Happy Birthdays
by oneiromancer242
Summary: Sharing your birthday can be rough on a sweet little kid. Peter has let his twin sister rule the day every year so far, but with their sixteenth birthday coming up, he decides to call the shots, and pull her along for a birthday she'll never forget.
1. Chapter 1

**For Scented Hairpin, who wants to see the Maximoff twins celebrate their birthday and doesn't care what age. Since I'm feeling so nice, you get three birthdays - but the main story (which this chapter acts as a kind of very extended prologue to) is their sixteenth.**

 **1966**

A rocket crash-landed on Venus, another flew around the Moon. Excited by the news, though she hardly even understood what it meant, Wanda decided that she wanted a space-party and Magda spent hours decorating the house with gold and silver shooting stars, hung papier-mache planets in fanciful colours. Nine and ten year-olds bounced around her house dressed up in deely-bopper antennae, played and squabbled and pretended to be spacemen. The twins were ten, and Magda would have done anything to make their birthday special, even with a four-year old to look after as well. Watched the children play and giggle with weary eyes, so tired she felt woozy just looking at them, but smiled all the same.

Felt just a little sad when she realised that all the little children she'd let into her house were Wanda's friends, not Peter's. A little grateful that her boy was so easy to amuse, so willing to let the others always make him chase in games of Tag, always be the Blind Man and the Piggy In The Middle, and never complain about it. Watched them with Lorna sleeping on her aching shoulder and was glad that the twins got on so well and never minded sharing their birthday – there was no way she could have done two parties so energetic.

Wanda made herself sick with excitement and birthday cake. Threw up all over her dress right after Magda had gratefully delivered the last of the little spacemen back to their parents. Peter went missing for an hour, driving her frantic until she had discovered him asleep under the table. Half-woke when she had picked him up and carried him down to his bed, muttered something sleepy in her ear about space-rockets and put his little arms around her neck, squeezed and made her almost weep with gratitude for her babies. Tired and headachy and dreading the clean-up, but so exquisitely happy that the two of them had had a good party.

Peter never asked to choose a party theme. Would have to be pressed and badgered to even ask for anything for his birthday. Seemed content to let his sister treat the day they shared as her own and to see her happy. Wanda asked for books, the way she always did – for a ten-year old she was crazy smart, and into some of the oddest topics. She would take Peter with her the next time she went into town, make him choose something he liked. No son of hers was getting away with not being spoiled for his tenth birthday.

He was smiling in his sleep, that silvery hair he'd somehow developed three years back falling in his eyes, and Magda wondered what was going on in that little head. Whether he was really happy to let his sister rule like a queen on their birthday or if he had some secret dream that he wouldn't dare to spoil Wanda's fun by insisting on. Wondered if ten-year olds even had such thoughts, or were capable of such selflessness. Kissed her son goodnight and left him sleeping.

 **1969**

There wasn't a party, the year the twins turned thirteen. Magda had been expected them to demand the biggest, most extravagant celebration to mark their passing into their teens, had been prepared and forearmed against whatever Wanda would ask for – shocked when she had said she just wanted to spend the day at home with her family. Sure that she'd been planning her thirteenth birthday probably since the day she turned ten, unused to having to press her for a request, even more surprised when she had burst into angry tears at the kitchen table. Wanda just didn't do that sort of thing.

"I don't WANT a party, Mom!" she'd shouted, "What's wrong with that? There's no law against not having a birthday party!"

Then the toaster had exploded in a shower of red sparks, clanged to the floor smoking slightly. Magda looked at her daughter in shock, stared open-mouthed at the little wisps of red that were curling around her clenched fists, tears drying up immediately as her anger turned to panic. She had screamed then, which was definitely not a Wanda thing to do. Blowing things up, however because very much a Wanda thing for the next few months.

Exploding toaster or not, she still didn't want a party. Magda made spaghetti for them all, Lorna getting most of it on her face and little in her mouth, Wanda doing her best to be chatty and happy and enjoy their birthday, nudging her brother throughout the meal whenever he seemed to be drifting off into his own world, dark eyes glassy and faraway with not having slept for the past week. Magda had carried him to bed again that night. This time not sleepily curling his arms around her neck or dozing off under a table, but simply too exhausted and dizzy to walk downstairs. He'd called her back just as she had crept away to the stairs.

"Mom?" that little voice sounded so weary it hurt her, "Will you take Wanda out and have a good time, please? I feel bad that she didn't get a party this year"

She'd nodded, swallowed a lump that rose in her throat. Promised that she would and silently hoped that next year, Wanda would still have a brother to share her birthday with.

 **1972**

"Only sweet people get a sweet sixteen y'know"

Peter didn't take his eyes off the ping-pong ball, effortlessly switching ends as he played against himself, keeping score in his head and glancing over at his sister. She looked mad. Somehow he didn't notice the football she aimed at the back of his head until it had hit.

"Oh sorry, Lard-Ass, didn't you see that coming?" she said, grinned as he rubbed his head and scowled at her, "I guess if only sweet people get a sweet sixteen then *you* won't be either. Unless you're actually becoming a Twinkie, which wouldn't surprise me"

"I'm sweet!" he protested, "At least I don't steal other people's shampoo"

"Are you STILL harping on about your stupid old lady shampoo?"

"I told you, I have to use that one or my hair goes all weird and dull!" he threw the football back at her. Wanda laughed as it missed by a mile.

"You're a horrible shot" she said, more gently. Brushed a couple of copies of Rolling Stone off Peter's bed and lay down, "Seriously though, what do you want to do for our birthday? We should make it a good one this year, we haven't had a party in years"

Peter was beside her in a blink, laying down comfortably with his hands behind his head, looked deep in thought.

"Don't you wanna choose?"

"I've chosen literally every party we've ever had. It's so your turn"

Thinking for a few moments more, a devilish grin spread across his face and he propped himself up on one elbow to face her, pushed his goggles back a little further to keep his hair out of his face

"How about we don't do a party this year?" He began, "How about instead, you and I can go make our own fun for the night?"

"Meaning?"

He grinned even wider, shuffled up to her and quickly leaned to make sure their mother was nowhere near the foot of the stairs. Cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered the plan into her ear. Wanda giggled, eyes wide and mischief lighting her face

"Oh you are so bad" she said…

"Well?"

"I'm in"


	2. Chapter 2

Waking to find Wanda's room empty, Magda smiled as she made her way down to the basement, sure enough finding the twins already awake, sat cross-legged on the floor together with a game of Monopoly laid out between them. Tutted at the pile of empty cookie wrappers and chip packets beside them

"Really?" she said, "chips and cookies before breakfast?"

"But it's our *birthday*!" they chorused in unison. Reaching up and accepting her caresses gladly

"Well then, I guess you won't want –" Magda stopped, blinked. Her son was nowhere to be seen

"Pancakes?" he called down from the top of the stairs, "I already laid the table, Mom. I can help if you like!"

"I'm never going to get used to that" she muttered, "C'mon birthday girl. Let's go get things going before he sets the house on fire somehow"

With breakfast done, Magda finally turned to her children and asked

"So did you decide what you want to do for your birthday yet? You haven't left me time to plan, but we can still do something if you want to"

"Actually, we were thinking we'd go out this evening," Wanda said innocently, meeting her brother's eyes and giving him a little smirk that their mother caught and found extremely suspicious, "Just to the arcade in town. We won't be back late"

"By yourselves?"

"Mom, we're sixteen, we're practically drawing our pensions" Peter drawled, stretched back in his chair, gave her an irresistibly wide-eyed look, "Please?"

Magda thought, sighed, relented.

"Well I guess if you're home by eleven it's okay. It is your birthday after all. Whatever makes the two of you happy"

She was smothered by twin affection as both of them launched themselves at her, hugs and thanks bubbling over her as she struggled to keep her balance. Sometimes when he bowled into people like that, Peter forgot how strong he was getting, and Wanda was no better.

Spending the day occupying themselves with games, TV, playing with their little sister, and a quantity of junk food that Magda thought incredibly unwise, the evening had come at last and she had somehow resisted the urge to tell them to dress warmly, that it was chilly. To warn them not to talk to strangers and look both ways when they crossed the road. It was hard to think of her little ones as grown-up enough to go out by themselves. She put a lid on her maternal fussing, succumbing to it only to yank Peter aside and warn him darkly

"If you get your sister into trouble, Peter Maximoff, you'll be very sorry"

Peter only gave her that cheeky grin, hugged her once more, put on his innocent face and promised that under absolutely no circumstances would he allow the slightest bit of trouble anywhere near Wanda. Like a fool, she still believed him despite the amount of times she'd had police at her door in the last year. Since being expelled, Peter seemed to have found more and more ways to amuse himself, none of which were very legal. She was sure there were better uses for the superhuman speeds he was capable of, but for now he hadn't found them – or simply didn't want to.

They had waited until they rounded the corner of their street before they had begun to discuss their plan in hushed tones, keeping a close watch for anyone who might recognise them and paranoid that someone would overhear.

"Relax, Buttface, I've got this all worked out. You sure you can lift something that heavy?"

"I moved the new refrigerator in on my own didn't I?" she hissed back, her brother considered it and nodded, pleased.

"Great. Then this is going to go so smooth nobody will even know until it's too late" he grinned, "Trust me"

"Not as far as I can throw you"

"That's probably a pretty long way, you know"

Whilst they could hear the chatter and bleep of arcade machines from inside, the back gates of the Hamilton Arcade were dark and unfortunately, locked. Peter quickly grabbed Wanda and stifled her little cry of surprise as he spotted the glow of a match, a security guard loitering out back for a smoke break. Under his restraining hand, Peter could feel his sister giggling, looked down at her and saw that her eyes were alight with panicky joy, seeing suddenly why he was always out causing mischief. If this was how good it felt, it was no wonder.

"That's the storage bay," he whispered, "all the new machines are in there waiting to be set up on the main floor. The door doesn't latch properly"

"How do you even know all this?!"

"I've been in there a hundred times, Sis! All the best games are in there! That guard is the only one they have, and he'll be back on the floor as soon as he finishes his smoke. Then we can do what we like"

They watched the guard grind the butt out with his heel, Wanda shaking against her brother in anticipation, until finally he had vanished inside and the coast was clear.

"You're crazy, you know that right?" she whispered

"You're helping me. What does that make you?" he winked, and vanished from sight. Over the fence like a little monkey and beckoning her to follow. She snagged her tights, stifled a giggle, dropped down beside him. As promised, the door to the storage bay was easily jimmied open, and they crept inside. Banks of machines stood still wrapped in cellophane, and she stared around her in delight. Peter was gone again, and when he zipped back to her side was already halfway through a catering pack of Twinkies, offering her one. Wanda wrinkled up her nose, waved it away

"Where did you get that?!"

"Snack bar storage" he said, muffled around an entire cake bar shoved into his mouth, "S'over there. What?! I was hungry!"

"You totally deserve to be huge, you know that?" she told him, "Now how do we get this thing out?"

"That's your part," he grinned, threw the empty box down, and took one last look around before darting over to open the door for her, "Do your floaty thing, dump it on the other side of the fence and voila! We have a Pong machine of our very own"

"Have you thought about how we're going to get it home without anyone seeing us?"

"Bah, details," he waved a hand dismissively, "We'll work that out as we go. That's half the fun. Do your thing, Weird Wanda"

She gave him a look that seemed to accuse him of six different kinds of insanity, but couldn't deny that she did feel exhilarated by the whole thing. Concentrated for a moment and raised her hands, enveloping the machine in a pulsing red glow that gently lifted it off the ground, frowning as she focussed on moving it gently. Reached the fence, and hesitated a moment before hefting herself up to perch on the console and lifting it again, hopping down once it was safely on the other side of the fence. Her brother was carefully shutting the wonky door behind them, giving her a grin and for some reason, deciding not to climb the fence but to slip between two bars. He was halfway through when the cocky smile suddenly fell off his face and a look of slight panic replaced it. Turning from gently pushing the Pong machine down into an alleyway out of sight, Wanda caught his eye and clapped both hands over her mouth to stifled the guffaw of laugher that immediately erupted out of her.

"Don't just stand there!" he hissed urgently, "Get me out!"

"You're actually stuck, aren't you?" she sniggered, "Why the heck didn't you just climb over again?!"

"I don't know! I thought I'd fit, I've done this before!"

Wanda was convulsing with supressed laughter. He struggled but couldn't squeeze through, giving her a glare of death as she crouched down to eye level and whispered

"Yeah, but did you eat a whole box of Twinkies first last time you tried to get through there?"

He somehow twisted to look back at where he was caught, seeing with some dismay that she was right, and he was stuck against the bars by his full belly. He cursed Hostess in his mind, wished he hadn't had such a big dinner earlier, turned back to her and glared. She was still shuddering with laughter, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"Suck it in, fat boy" she whispered, "Give me your hands, I'll pull you out"

Doing as she said, he finally came free, dusting himself off and giving her the filthiest look he could muster

"It's not funny"

"No, it's hysterical! I'm gonna call you Pooh Bear for the rest of your *life*"

Peter thought about snapping back, but finally free he saw the funny side and giggled. Grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the alley until they had both got themselves under control. It took them almost an hour to get home, but if anybody had happened to spot two shifty-looking teens and an arcade cabinet floating in a bubble of red light, they clearly dismissed it as an hallucination. Having wrestled the thing down into the basement, Peter keeping their mother busy with a stream of confusing chatter, Wanda wiped the sweat from her face and joined them to slump down into the sofa thoroughly exhausted. Her mother looked between the two of them suspiciously, but said nothing. Finished watching the late news, kissed her children goodnight, asked them

"Did you have a good birthday?"

"Oh yeah," Wanda sighed happily, "The best."


	3. Chapter 3

Confronted with a sight very familiar to her by now – the official knock at the door, the shape of a peaked cap through the screen – Magda grit her teeth and pulled the bolts back on the door.

"Good morning Officer Pinkney, can I help you?" she said brightly. Put on her most motherly going-to-bake-you-cookies smile. The trooper at the door didn't fall for it, only peered at her and said

"Where is he?"

"He…?"

"Your son, Ms Maximoff. The one who causes trouble all over town. The one I'm forever coming here and talking to?" the officer said impatiently, "Is he home?"

"Why of course" somehow Magda maintained her sweet smile, "He's downstairs, why don't you come in?"

As she preceeded the officer downstairs, Magda heard an odd _Plink! Plink! Plink!_ Noise from down in the basement, heard Wanda laugh and Peter say something rude to her. Wondered what the hell was going on this time, seeing the twins as she came in, Peter standing behind his sister who perched on a tall stool, his hands over hers on the controls of… was that a full sized arcade cabinet? Oh no…

"Morning, Peter" the officer said, planted his hands on his hips, "I was going to ask if you knew anything about a break in at the Hamilton Arcade last night, but I don't think I need to"

Magda saw a look of horror and panic flash across Wanda's face, the machine made a sad sound indicating that she'd just lost the game, and quickly Magda stepped between her children and the officer, switching effortlessly from Mommy Dearest to Mamma Bear

"What are you accusing my children of?!" she demanded, jabbed him in the chest with a finger, "Theft? How dare you! They were both home all night yesterday!"

"Yeah, dude" Peter gave the officer a challenging smirk, "Both of us. All night"

"It seems a little suspicious to me that a Pong cabinet was stolen last night, and now there's one down here" the officer told her. Magda didn't back down.

"This was their birthday gift!" she said indignantly, "Surely you've taken my son's details often enough to know that he and his sister were sixteen years old yesterday!"

"Then you don't know anything?"

"Of course not! Do you know how ridiculous you sound, accusing two teenagers of stealing an arcade machine?! How did they get it out – how did they get it home?!" Magda answered for them, planted herself firmly and scowled at the officer, "Neither of them can even drive, what do you think they did, levitated it?"

For a long moment, Pinkney looked between the two children, their ferocious mother, and the Pong machine which had begun to play a happy little tune, inviting them to try another game. Finally he said

"I know this was you"

"Prove it" Peter smirked, "Or make yourself look crazy back at the precinct, your choice"

"Have you finished harassing my children now?" Magda demanded, taking a step forward that forced the officer to back away, almost tripping over the bottom step, "You're lucky I don't put in a complaint against you. I presume you can show yourself out"

As soon as they had heard the front door bang behind him, Magda turned to the twins with an icy smile. She looked ready to kill them both on the spot.

"It was Peter's idea!" Wanda blurted out, yelped in pain as he pulled her hair

"Wanda carried it back!" he protested, doubled up as Wanda's elbow met his ribs

"Next year," Magda said quietly, "You're having a loud, messy, party here at home. You can invite as many hooligans as you want. If you want beer, I'll buy you beer. Just as long as I don't have to pay both of your bail"

"Mom, I –" Wanda began, silenced by her mother's palm held up in front of her

"I don't want to hear it, Wanda" she said, closed her eyes and drew in a deep, calming breath, "I thought you knew better than this"

"It really wasn't her idea Mom," Peter said, looking genuinely apologetic, "I'm sorry, do you want us to put it back?"

"Don't be ridiculous. After all, I can't afford one of those things… if that's what you wanted for your birthday" her smiled thawed at last, and she came over to put and arm around each of her children, "then I'm glad you've got it"

"Thanks for backing us up" Peter said, accepted his mother ruffling up his hair without complaint even though he'd only just got it to lie down

"I'm getting pretty good at that aren't I?" she chuckled, "You two are going to be the death of me. But I love you both"

"Would really get us beer when we were only seventeen?" Wanda asked

"Hell no." her mother replied "Two little criminals in the family is enough. Come on up and get a slice of cake, there's some left over from yesterday. Oh, and there's Twinkies"

Magda didn't understand why her daughter gave her twin a sidelong look before bursting into uncontrollable giggles, or why he scowled at her so hard, but for now she was simply satisfied that they hadn't ended up in jail on their birthday. Grabbed both of their hands to pull them upstairs, and hoped they'd never get too grown-up for motherly hugs and birthday cake.


End file.
